A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

[Special thanks to Swoon Reads! I won an ARC of this book from the #10WordLoveStory contest.]

Goodreads Summary:

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together.

A little something of a back story…

I’ve been wanting to read this book since February 14, 2014–Valentine’s Day! ❤ And on June 1, 2014, I found out that I won in Swoon Reads’ #10WordLoveStory contest, which meant that I’ll get a Swoon Reads tote bag of books–and among those books is A Little Something Different. Three weeks ago, I received my prize and SQUEEE!

SQUEEE for the SQUIRREL! I was so excited for the squirrel’s POV. I was supposed to read this book next month, because this review is supposed to be posted a week before the release, but guess what–I did the unimaginable, the unthinkable, and the unexpected: I ditched my TBR pile for the week just to read this book.

A little something special…

This book review is my first Swoon Saturday post. Swoon Saturdays are dedicated to Swoon Reads books. As I’ve mentioned in a few of my posts before, Swoon Reads is my first writing community and it’s very special, so I decided to create a special feature just for my writing family. ❤

My reviews for Swoon Reads books will have a different structure, but my thoughts will remained unbiased and honest, so don’t worry. 🙂

A little something of a preview…

I rated this book using my revised rating system. There will be a post explaining how it works, and the breakdown of scores. My revised rating system will take effect on August 1, 2014.

My thoughts:

Sandy got me on page 2, when Lea mentioned that she’s taking up Creative Writing. That’s when I knew that I’m gonna love this book more than I ever thought. Because aside from the swoonworthy feels, I got some writing advice. Double thumbs up!

I wish Inga could be my professor. Maybe she could even pair me with a cute classmate like what she did with Lea and Gabe. *wink, wink*

“I don’t think age has much to do with writing. I think it’s something that can certainly improve in time, but there’s no age limit on how old you need to be to write well.”

“There’s a big difference on the way we write compared to the way we speak, and the only way to learn that is to hear it. The best way to do that is to read everything you write out loud.”

-Inga

I thought the squirrel would be the only odd POV in the fourteen POVs of the book. But there was another one–I believe I can tell you that there’s a POV of a bench. I appreciated that a lot, and I’m so happy because Sandy gave them (the squirrel and the bench) a chance to speak for themselves. I found that to be adorable.

There was a part that made my heart break a little, and I loved how it was written. I don’t want to spoil you guys with anything, though.

People who like Gabe and Lea wanted them to be together so much. Some people were even annoyed because Gabe and Lea kept on denying themselves of the obvious. I found myself rooting for them as early as they met. Their story is very cute, with the special participation of the squirrel and the bench…and pretty much all others. ❤

A Little Something Different is a super cute swoonworthy book. It made me laugh-smile lots of times. It was a light read, one that had a healthy dose of everything. Nothing happened too fast or too slow. I loved it so much, and I know that you will, too. ❤